Marc here and I’m getting a massive jump on things this year! Monica and I just got back from date night at the Queen Theater in Bryan, our first choice for movie-going. Tonight’s film: Love Actually, the quintessential Brit rom-com. Miss seeing it at your own risk! For the out-of-towners, the Queen is an old single-screen theater from the 1950s the city has restored to better-than-new operation. To be clear, it’s the city’s vanity piece – it can’t come close to breaking even financially. But it’s an investment in the downtown area that’s made some nice progress from when we were students in the 1980s.
What can I say about 2024? Hhmmmm… Another year older – and another year closer to retirement, that glorious state of being! The sad truth is, despite our aching bones, neither of us are 60 yet, so there’s probably plenty of work still ahead. Be that as it may, a body can – and must – dream!
Early 2024 was cool weather and work – not too many pics or activities until spring. Some of you know that I’m sort of into biking now. Here’s a selfie I took at the end of bluebonnet season and sent to Monica in a feeble attempt to make her envious of all the fun I was having out on highway 47 east of town:
Yah, it was a windy day! While the breeze may have been blowing in my face in the photo, it was at my back during (this part) of the ride and I’ll tell you, a little help doesn’t hurt at all!
Soon after this we made a trip to Mitch and BethAnne’s place. We spent a few days with them in their new country home, played and rough-housed with Oren, Ryker, and Nico and in turn were were regaled with the boys’ latest adventures. We hope to see them in Texas later this month at Christmas time.
The biggest news of 2024 comes from David – he and Olly are engaged:
April brought the stork and the latest addition to the Moore Dynasty, Levi Moore:
Spring was nearing an end when we took a quick trip to Austin where we checked in with my cousins Kristin and Erin and went to see Madam Radar at the legendary Antone’s:
It’s a classic blues/rock joint, but part of the ambiance is decidedly not the standing room only non-seating. Seriously, there’s about 12 chairs in the entire place. What? But it was a fun night and a good show and the band, a favorite of ours, sounded great there.
Our biggest adventure of the year was our vacation to Roatan where we divided a week between a pair of American-friendly resorts on the beaches there. We stuck pretty close to the tourist zones, really, but also avoided like a plague the cruise ship disembarkees.
The Roatan sunsets aren’t the most spectacular in the world but there’s still something about sundown over the water:
Here’s one of us at the Turtle Beach resort, a nice little place owned and operated by a fellow from Detroit:
The trip gave me a second opportunity to try my Duolingo Spanish. Sadly, I failed the hands-on test again, faring no better than in Cancun last year. Monica was able to converse with our resort-provided drivers well enough, though and we had no issues getting around. For me, the highlight of the trip was some extended time underwater watching the little fishes swim around the reef. Every day involved snorkeling, including an all-day tour around the island with a very cool tour company whose guides were outstanding.
The water there is as clear as they say and filled with cool fish. I came back super-charged to get my scuba license but that got derailed by other events (foreshadowing).
Fun fact about being from south-east-central Texas: It’s cooler in Honduras in the summer than it is at home. Want proof of that? Here’s a pic of Monica cooling off Moore Dynasty style just a week or two after getting back:
Maybe it’s not the classiest pool in the neighborhood (or maybe it is!) but the mojito she’s sipping certainly helps keep things in the proper perspective!
Oddly, not everyone was sure what the pool was for:
I’m certainly not above fighting the heat redneck-style, as seen in this art house landscape:
It was about this time that I took a pretty gnarly spill on my bike. Lessons for the kids out there: You don’t need to know what time it is, really; Especially if you’re a Surface Duo user riding downhill on a sidewalk; and Even More So if you need to slow a very touchy disc brake bicycle with your left hand when you’re right-handed and using most of your brain power trying to get your ginormous Duo back into your pocket. Enough said that the crash brought an abrupt end to biking and disc golf season just as things were getting good.
Being on the disabled list freed up time for some random adventures, including a day trip to Rockport: We raced a hurricane in order to get Monica her favorite mussels from the very nearly legendary Copano’s (formerly 495 Chesapeake) one last time before it blew away forever:
The punch line: The storm blew away north and both the town and the restaurant were spared! If you’ve never been there and get the chance, it’s worth the drive!
In revenge for the bike wreck, I traded the Duo in on a Motorola Razr and am now able to take pictures again for the first time in 3 years, including these guys:
and
In August we were able to squeeze in one more little break to use those extra vacation hours before the end of the TAMU fiscal year and took the opportunity to see Sammy Hagar’s Best of All Worlds tribute to Van Halen:
No, this wasn’t a cheap ticket and Yes, it did aggravate my tinnitus – but worth it on both counts! A few of you might remember I was a huge VH fan growing up and this was a two-hour blast from the past that has re-invigorated my love of their music. We went from here to a Katie’s weekend at our favorite venue for some local live music.
More recently, we went with the local family to the CSPD Halloween party:
On the day-to-day front, Monica and I continue in our respective careers with the expectation of wrapping it up a few years down the road. We mostly spend our weekends here in Bryan taking in the occasional music show or movie and spending time with Jake, Amberly, Dave, Olly, Andre, Henson, and Levi. More often than not, we’re at J & A’s place on Sundays:
On the home front, our pampered pooches continue to guard – and rule – the house in spite of their advancing age. The Super Dog Tucker turned 13 recently and he had a bad few days that made me wonder if he was going to make it. But he bounced back and seems spunkier than he has in some time. In fact, I recently took him to Iola for a long day of mobile home repairs and tree trimming. He evidently had a great time since he was too busy to come when I called for him! When he did come back an hour later, he was a bit worse for wear, cosmetically:
Most recently we held Thanksgiving at our house for the local family and Dad and Sharon. No pictures, but a good time was had by all, bolstered by Monica’s decision to have me grill steaks instead of eating another dry old bird!
Soon my Little Miss will have her birthday, but that is a story for another time! Likewise, tales from the New Generation of the Moore Dynasty will have to come direct from the sources, should they deem it wise to share their tidings of joy and turmoil.
With that, I’ll sign off for now, well ahead of the Christmas Rush this year. Perhaps I’ll update this missive with a new more items in the post script if the means and opportunity presents itself. Such is the beauty – and the curse – of the malleable missives of the 21st-century. One has to keep an eye on words these days, lest they change out from under us.
Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night!
Marc and Monica Moore
P.S. A picture of us from the TAMU Chemistry department’s Christmas party:
